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Analysis: Iraq Force Shift Studied

Council on Foreign Relations

November 20, 2006
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is thoroughly reviewing the military options in Iraq. The military is being tugged in two different directions: Democrats support a phased redeployment with clearly set timelines, while Republicans like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and neoconservatives favor sending more troops (USA Today) to secure the country. A leaked report of the Pentagon review reveals the plan entails three options: a short-term increase in U.S. forces, a long-term plan to cut the U.S. presence there with a commitment to training and advising Iraqi forces instead of combat missions, or a swift withdrawal of U.S. soldiers. President Bush, while in Indonesia, reiterated his opposition to the third option. But insiders tell the Washington Post the Pentagon may undertake a hybrid of the first two plans: a short-term buildup of U.S. forces from the current level of about 140,000 followed by a phased redeployment to perhaps 60,000 U.S. troops. One Defense Department official likened the strategy to Michael’s Jackson’s moonwalk, whereby the singer appears to be moving forward while actually sliding backward.

The Pentagon report precedes a highly anticipated study, explained in this Backgrounder, by an independent advisory panel chaired by former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III and former Representative Lee H. Hamilton. Experts say the commission, which is expected to release its findings in December, will recommend shifting away from counterinsurgency operations and instead focus on securing chaos-prone areas like Baghdad and training Iraqi soldiers and police more effectively.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.